I cannot help but feel the weight of history - King Charles III in first speech to Parliament

“As I stand before you today, I cannot help but feel the weight of history which surrounds us, and which reminds us of the vital parliamentary traditions, to which members of both Houses dedicate yourselves with such personal commitment for the betterment of us all,” he said.

King Charles III gives his first speech as king to parliament Pulse

Hundreds of members of parliament crowded into attended the event inside the 1,000-year-old hall at the Houses of Parliament, to offer their condolences to the new king upon the loss of her mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Charles told members of the House of Commons and House of Lords that he would follow his late mother Queen Elizabeth II in upholding the principles that underpin the UK’s political system.

“While very young, her late Majesty pledged herself to serve her country and her people and to maintain the precious principles of constitutional government which lie at the heart of our nation. This vow she kept with unsurpassed devotion,” he told the assembled lawmakers and peers, among them Prime Minister Liz Truss and her predecessor, Boris Johnson.

“She set an example of selfless duty which, with God’s help and your counsels, I am resolved faithfully to follow,” the king added. “As Shakespeare says of the earlier Queen Elizabeth, she was ‘a pattern to all Princes living’.”

The ceremony was held in Westminster Hall because monarchs are not allowed inside the House of Commons.

That rule dates from the 17th century when King Charles I tried to enter and arrest lawmakers.

That confrontation between crown and Parliament led to a civil war which ended with the king being beheaded in 1649.

The queen died at Balmoral Castle on Thursday at age 96, triggering a period of national mourning where tens of thousands of Britons are expected to pay tribute to her.

The new king is set to fly later Monday to Edinburgh to be with the queen’s flag-draped coffin as it lies at rest in the Scottish capital.

The queen’s coffin will lie at the cathedral for 24 hours, giving members of the public a chance to file past and pay their respects.

On Tuesday, it will be flown to London where the coffin will lie in state at the Houses of Parliament Palace from Wednesday afternoon until the morning of the funeral on Sept. 19.